Fish-hook.



W. G. BLODGETT.

FISH HOOK.

APPLiCATlON man MAR. 23, 1914.

1,1 83,527. Patented May 16, 1916.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60., WASHINGTON, D. c.

WILBIAM e. nno'nsn'r'r, or MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin,

FISH-HO 0K.

I Specification of Letters Patent. i Patented-May 16, 1916,

. Application filed March 23,1914. Serial 1%. 826,684.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LI/VILLI M G. BLoDeETT, a citizen of the United States,,and resldent of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of IVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fish- Hooks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof. i

Myinvention has for'its object to provide a simple,economical and effective fishhook especially designed for trolling or castmg.

The construction andarrangement of my invention is such that a spring-controlled hook is attached to a body and locked under' compression in such manner that when a strike occurs the bite of the fish causes release of the spring-controlled hook member, whereby the same is spread or ex: panded to thus positively gaif the inner surface of the fishs mouth at two polnts simultaneously, whereby the catch is in} sured. This automatic hooking of the .fish coincident to the bite will avoid the delicate manipulation and skillordinarily required to hook the fish by an initial tightening of the line at a critical time, which frequently results in losing the prospective catch due to the fact" that the hook will not take hold or be. so slightly embedded into the flesh that any sudden jerk will cause release. The catch or hooking will hence be automatic and at all times the force applied is uniform.

Another object of my invention is to provide means whereby the points of the hooks are concealed or protected during a trolling or casting operation, whereby the device is rendered Weedless.

As an exemplification of my invention I have shown the same in connection with an artificial minnow having a hollow body provided with a whirl or spoon, but it should be understood that any form of bait may be utilized without departing from the spirit of my invention, as, for example, a solid body may be used of the buoyant type and I may, in some instances, utilize natural bait in connection with the device, it being apparent that, while I have shown a pair of hooks in carrying out my invention, I may utilize one hook under spring control or two or more of such hooks.

With the above objects in view the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction andcombination of parts as set forth hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed;

In the drawings Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a device embodying the features of my invention with parts broken away and in section to more clearly show certain details of construction, the springcontrolled hooks being illustrated intheir closed or locked position for trolling; Fig. 2,a similar View showing the hooks released and in their working or gafiing position, and Fig. 8 illustrates a solid form of body which may be, in some instances, utilized in connection with the skeleton form shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring by characters to the drawings,

there is provided a head composed of cheekpieces 1 and a connecting neck-plate 2. This head comprises a single plate of metallic material bent centrally upon itself to form the parts named. ,Extending through an aperture in the neck-plate and lying between the cheek piece is a body-pin 3, which body-pin projects beyond the head and terminates with a line attaching eye 3'. The

body-pin just rearward of the neck 2 has,

revolubly mounted thereon a whirl or spoon 4, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

It is obvious that I may, in. some instances, substitute for the whirl or spoon a solid body 4, such, for example, as is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the body being centrally apertured and adapted to fit upon the body-pin and be secured in any desired manner.

Mounted upon the body-pin 8 within the same has secured thereto a hook 7. These determined angle, whereby the minnow or bait as a whole may be caused to travel upon the top or under the water as conditions may require.

As shown in Fig. 2, the spring jaw menibers are in their normal positions and, in

order to set the hooks preparatory to the bait being used, the said jaw members are bowed downwardly in such position as to permit the apertured ears 6 thereof being slipped over the free end 3 of the bodypin, which pin thus constitutes a locking mechanism for the jaws due to the fact that ble shield braids 9 for the spring jaws 5',

the bowing of the jaws tends to draw their ear carrying ends toward the head. The spring-controlled hook members being thus locked the hooks of each of said members is folded one upon the other to protect or conceal the points, as best shown in Fig. 2. Thus the device, when locked, assumes the form of a skeleton minnow. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I provide flexi- I be instantly released. This is due to the fact that compression of the springs will take place in both directions, insurlng release of the locking mechanism. Hence the bait will be effective whether the fish grasps the hook ends and draws backwardly or grips the bait bodily.

It is obvious from the foregoing description that should the minnow be grabbed by a fish, when the jaws of the fish exert a positive pressure .upon the shanks of the hooks or the bow-springs, the said bowsprings will be compressed to thus cause their apertured ears to recede or strip from the locking point of the body-pin, whereby said hooks are released and the spring jaws will thus snap outwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2, causing the fish to be gafied within the mouth at two points, the spring exerting suflicient force to embed the points of the hooks into the flesh of the fish so securely that it is practically impossible for the caught fish to be released by tearing or shaking the bait from its mout It is also within the scope of my invention to utilize the body-pin as a support for any style of natural bait or the device may be used in connection with frogs or the like.

I claim:

A fish bait comprising a head having a rod extending longitudinally therethrough, the ends of the rod projecting beyond the ends of the head, the outer end of the rod being provided with fish-line engaging means, a bowed spring extending through the head, the arch of said spring being mounted on the rod within the head, the free ends of the spring being provided with fishengaging means and adjacent said ends thespring being provided with inwardly projecting ears provided with openings for engaging the inner end portion of the rod, the ears and the inner end of the rod being so disposed whereby a compressing pressure applied to the free portions of said spring will cause the ears to slide from engagement with 'the rod. v

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM G. BLODGETT.

Witnesses Gno. W. YOUNG, M. E. DOWNEY.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner at Patents,

. a Washington, D. G. 

